LINK In Search of God’s Perfect Proofs
Paul Erdős, the famously eccentric, peripatetic and prolific 20th-century mathematician, was fond of the idea that God has a celestial volume containing the perfect proof of every mathematical theorem. “This one is from The Book,” he would declare when he wanted to bestow his highest praise on a beautiful proof.
Never mind that Erdős doubted God’s very existence. “You don’t have to believe in God, but you should believe in The Book,” Erdős explained to other mathematicians.
I'm a HUGE Erdos fan... the quintessential eccentric mad genius... and the notion of collecting the most beautiful proofs in one book, however you define beauty in this context, is in itself a beautiful venture for me.
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11 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Mathematics is a wonderful tool that can describe the universe in precise and elegant terms. These proofs are the mathematical equivalent of poetry but totally irrelevant to the lives of most people.
sterlingdean
Level 6
May 27, 2020
0
I thought this was a lot of fun: Thanks for sharing! My late father was a math wiz. Not I, sadly, yet I appreciate math like I appreciate physics, standing on the edge of that ocean of knowledge, knowing my frail boat is too fragile to navigate its vastness. I understand enough, however, to wonder if our social discourse would benefit if more of us mastered math as our “second language!”
The-Krzyz
Level 8
May 13, 2020
1
I hope if you find said book it’s not as full of contradictions as the one I had to study as a child.
girlwithsmiles
Level 8
May 13, 2020
0
@TheMiddleWay yes, The Book sounds much closer to truth than, The Good Book 
What objective evidence does his book proved? Can it be tested, and get the same results every time?
xenoview
Level 8
May 11, 2020
0
@TheMiddleWay
If it can't be tested, then it can't make claims there is a god.
Destroy unpresident trump within the next 48 hours with a thunderbolt and I will believe in you... otherwise you never been real god.
GipsyOfNewSpain
Level 9
May 11, 2020
1
@TheMiddleWay Roman Catholic.... that explain.... You ever been to Rome?
@Radu Enough proof to me... all I need is One Miracle catered to me.
As with all things, my first question is "why"?
I don't need a new truth, or an old truth, or even a 'special' truth.
I do no harm, do my best , put up with strange ideas and spout my own. Take no offence when people are confused by my thought process or understanding facts, I just enjoy the diversity. So post away about a new deity, called mathematics.
Pompey
Level 6
May 11, 2020
1
I don't see the mathematical logic. You'd think it'd be the other way around.
Storm1752
Level 8
May 11, 2020
0
My reading of the article is that the 'god' is a purely metaphorical one, just an artistic outline to frame the ideas into a group. The book sounds like a really interesting read.
@Fernapple WHAT book? The Bible? Well it's long and boring and much of it has nothing to do with you or I, but there are some good bits in there.
A mathematical blueprint of the universe? A mirror up to which we can hold reality?
Only insofar as about ANY book the same thing can be said.
And anyway, the I Ching is a much more practical tool, if one is looking for a template..
Well...good for you. How can one be an atheist and still believe in a ''book'' created by that god?
LucyLoohoo
Level 9
May 10, 2020
0
My reading of the article is that the 'god' is a purely metaphorical one, just an artistic outline to frame the ideas into a group. The book sounds like a really interesting read.
Probably a way of expressing the idea that all of mathematics already "exists" and is waiting to be discovered. As opposed to the idea that mathematicians invent it as they go along.
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